


Interlude

by reckless_indulgence



Series: When the World Ends [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Boredom, Fantasy, Goddesses, Immortality, Imprisonment, Introspection, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25852789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reckless_indulgence/pseuds/reckless_indulgence
Summary: Nox has been alone for so long, driven half mad by boredom. They welcome the mystery of their new master.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Nonbinary Character
Series: When the World Ends [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1865647
Kudos: 8





	Interlude

Over the centuries that Nox had been alive, they had forgotten many things. They forgot their age, the name of the place they grew up. They forgot their own name. The one thing they remembered, above all else, was Sercei.

The goddess was everything they had over the years. Nox supposed they must have had a family, friends, someone in the beginning, but they couldn’t remember any of them. If they were perfectly honest, Nox wasn’t even sure what race they had been. They certainly didn’t look human now, but who could say? They didn’t need to remember what they had looked like before to know that it had been warped and changed, first by Sercei, then themself, and finally Eires.

The goddess of the humans. If Nox could have their revenge for one thing, it would be her curse. No other slight or cruelty came close. Even two centuries later, they dreamed of the day they would regain their freedom and find a way to make her  _ pay _ .

So far, they’d had no luck finding a way to escape. The last wearer of the ring had been one of the prince’s ancestors, Queen Reina. Nox didn’t know how long it had been since her death, but they remembered the last words spoken to them.

_ “No one will ever find this ring again.” _

The queen had ordered them into their prison the moment she understood what they were and never called for them again. They felt it when she died, and then there was nothing for so long that they lost count (has it really only been two centuries that they have been bound, or was their memory failing them again? It was so much easier to keep their mind through eternity when they had magic). They were alone in the quiet and the dark until the prince came.

At first, it was a relief. Nox was ecstatic to be released again. They were less pleased to find a trembling, wide-eyed child wearing their ring. When the boy told them that they wouldn’t be killing for him, they wanted to scream. When was the last time they had been allowed to use their claws? At least two masters had kept them locked away before this (gods, how they hated that this was their only way of telling time, by the deaths of their  _ masters) _ , and now they were chained to this boy who would rather die as a coward than kill another.

It was frustrating, but it wasn’t the first time. Nox remembered the last young human who had put on the ring. They remembered the girl’s fear and reluctance but also her desperation. She had refused to allow them to kill for her at first, but it wasn’t long before she was worn down by the world. When she let him kill for her, she cried.

When she took a life by her own hand, she laughed.

Solomon would be the same as the girl. Nox would only have to wait and guide him toward it.

But something was strange about the prince. Nox didn’t know what it was, and they found themself watching him to figure it out. The boy’s weakness was infuriating, but there was more to it. He was a mystery, something they didn’t remember having seen before, but Nox was very patient. They had to be, after so long spent in captivity.

Over the next few months, it became clear that Solomon was not going to change. No matter how many times the prince’s enemies threatened him or even made attempts on his life, he never allowed Nox to kill them. It was the only order he ever gave, and it was  _ maddening. _ A week into knowing Solomon, Nox already dreamed of ripping his throat out.

( _ Dream _ in the metaphorical sense. They would have to sleep to dream, and if they had ever needed sleep before, they were incapable of it now. Eires wouldn’t be so kind as to offer him even the smallest escape from his torment.)

It was miserable living in the tunnels, playing babysitter to a prince and wolf around everyone else. They weren’t going to talk to any of these people if they could avoid it, and Solomon never ordered them to show their face. If Nox wasn’t so accustomed to the feeling of being chained, they would have been pacing the tunnels with restless energy. Playing with the boy was more teasing themself than anything, but it helped relieve some of the frustration and stress of this situation.

Nox had been alive for centuries, so long that they had lost count. Their memory stretched so far, and in all this time, they couldn’t remember anyone showing kindness to them. Not one of the wearers of the ring. Not after Nox had already bloodied and bruised them.

When Solomon looked up at them, wide blue eyes so completely  _ sincere, _ and asked if there was a way to break the curse, it had shocked them. Nox couldn’t remember the last time a human had even surprised them, let alone made them skip a breath. The prince’s weakness was  _ contemptible, _ it was infuriating when he let himself be pushed around, and the way he fell to tears at the slightest provocation made the beast want to tear into him, but...

But Nox couldn’t remember anyone  _ ever _ being kind to them.

Things changed after that. Nox wouldn’t call what they felt affection exactly; it was closer to a mix of curiosity and gratitude. They did more than just watch now, working to help their master learn to survive in this world. Nox would be there to save him from death, but they couldn’t protect him indefinitely. Eventually, the prince would be forced to make his own choices, and Nox was refreshingly curious about how it would go. Maybe Solomon would never be like the ones who came before. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Nox had eternity. They might as well take a few years to see this through.


End file.
